Lawrence city commissioners on Tuesday approved annexing about 65 acres into northwestern Lawrence and rezoning them for construction of new single-family homes.
The 63.5 acres of land are east of East 1000 Road (Queens Road) and north of North 1700 Road (Peterson Road). Lawrence Nature Park is to the east of the land.
“Generally speaking, I’m very excited about the public benefit of having additional homes, and I do think adding additional single family homes, no matter what the price point, will be a benefit to the city,” Mayor Brad Finkeldei said.
The land is just inside the Perry-Lecompton school district boundary line. The existing neighborhood just to the south of North 1700 Road is within the Lawrence Public Schools boundary.
The approved rezoning requests break the land up into about 44 acres of low-density residential land (R1 and R2) and 19 acres of open space (P2):
The preliminary plan indicates space for 168 lots. However, that plan is not binding and could change.
Planning commissioners in February voted 6-3 to recommend in favor of the annexation request.
In addition to numerous written comments in their meeting agenda, planning commissioners heard from a handful of members of the public during their meeting. Some neighbors voiced concerns about taking away the mature forest area and habitat for deer, and the potential for increased water runoff and more traffic in the area.
Two neighbors also voiced similar concerns to the city commission on Tuesday, and several written comments in opposition were included in the meeting agenda.
Finkeldei, Vice Mayor Mike Courtney, and Commissioners Mike Dever, Kristine Polian and Amber Sellers voted unanimously to approve the annexation and rezoning requests.
The application came from Landplan Engineering on behalf of Deane R. Holmes Jr., the owner of the property.
The city anticipates that extending its sewer system into the land will cost about $3.5 million, according to the agenda. The applicant had not requested tax incentives from the city as of Tuesday’s vote.
Find more coverage of annexation requests at this link.
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